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The Ohio State basketball team finally got back in the win column with a wild ride in the Big Ten Tournament. The first three games seemed to mimic each other… Buckeyes jump out to a big lead. Buckeyes lose lead. Buckeyes hold on to win.
The story was flipped when Ohio State faced Illinois in the championship game. This time it was the Fighting Illini who got out to the fast start and the Buckeyes who chipped away forcing overtime. OSU ultimately ran out of gas, playing their fourth game in a row, settling for a runner-up title.
Even with that loss, the Buckeyes made quite an impression. In the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports, Ohio State moved up three spots and are the No. 7 team heading into March Madness.
Chris Holtman’s team was awarded a No. 2 seed and will face Oral Roberts University on Friday.
Need some help with your bracket? USA TODAY Sports college basketball experts @ScottMGleeson, @DanWolken, @MGardnerSports, @MrKeithJenkins and @GreggDoyelStar made their picks and shared them. https://t.co/o0Gwg6LkFD pic.twitter.com/1A78LFpNpk
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) March 15, 2021
The rest of the coaches’ top 10: Gonzaga (1), Illinois (2), Baylor (3), Michigan (4), Alabama (5), Houston (6), Ohio State (7), Iowa (8), Texas (9) and Arkansas (10).
Here’s how the rest of the coach’s top 25 stacks up heading into the NCAA Tournament.